Seven dead as van plunges into ravine in Buner

BUNER: Seven people were killed while three others injured when a passenger van plunged into a ravine in Jabo, Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

According to the police, the vehicle was bound for Swari from Chagharzi, the financial hub of Buner district. A police official said the deceased included three people of a family. The bodies and injured persons were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Dagar.

An official of the district administration said the accident took place after a child sitting on the front seat of the vehicle pulled down the handbrake. The driver had parked the van on a slope, with the handbrake pulled up. When he stepped out of the vehicle, the child pulled the handbrake down, causing the vehicle to slide back and eventually fall in the ravine.

As the snowfall has caused roads to be slippery, the inclined surface also caused the vehicle to slide back before action could be taken for rescue.